Hats Off and Smiles On
by carpenoctem22
Summary: Despite the fact that it's a prestigious affair that marks the end of her high school career, Pacifica would really rather not attend her graduation today. And no, that has nothing too do with the fact that her parents bailed again, or that the two people she really wants to see go to school a state away. Okay, maybe a little bit. (Older Dipifica).


**Okay, so I promise I'm this close to finishing my other story, but I recently sat through my brother's graduation and accidentally got hit with this. So have a quick graduation-themed oneshot about these losers. There are original characters in this, by the way, but they're minor.**

* * *

"Are you sure the collar is supposed to fold like this?"

"For the last time, Amanda, no, you're supposed to flip it back – oh, for heaven's sake."

Pacifica resists the urge to laugh at her two friends as they struggle to adjust their graduation gowns. Her own gown is, thankfully, already on and secured perfectly, the gauzy white fabric gathered around her knees as she fiddles with the straps of her heels.

"Pacif, hair down or up?"

Pacifica glances up at Serena, her friend twisting her shoulder-length black hair in agitation. "Down," she says. "But keep the top part clipped back. It looks cute."

"Thanks," Serena says, flashing her a brief smile. "But we're gonna have caps on, so it's not like anyone will notice."

"Guys, mine's going to fall off the moment I make it on the stage," Amanda moans, adjusting her cap. "Or worse, on the walk up."

"You both look great, and you'll both be fine," Pacifica says, with an air of finality, reaching for her other shoe. Both girls give her an absent-minded thanks, but she's guessing it did little to quell their nerves.

She feels a small pang as she watches them fidget in front of the mirror, realizing this is the last time they'll be students together. While Amanda and Serena are no Dipper and Mabel, they're still the best friends she's made during her time in high school, and she's eternally grateful to them for their casual dismissal of the status her last name gives her. They've treated her like a normal, human girl for the last four years, and that's meant more to her than she can express in words.

She shakes the nostalgia off as she finishes buckling the intertwining straps on her shoes, wobbling a bit as she stands. The memory of Dipper laughing at her when she and Mabel picked them out hits her, his telling her she'd trip on the way up if she wasn't too careful. Pacifica's heart twists.

They're not going to be there. No matter how much she wants them to, no matter how much they told her they wanted to, Dipper and Mabel's high school in Piedmont lets out exactly three days after Pacifica's, leaving them stuck in the middle of school, finals, and preparations today. It's not their fault, even if Dipper's apparently forgotten his promise to call her this morning. She would at least have expected them to remember that, to hear Mabel's excited whooping and Dipper's calm, reassuring tones before she walks out to a crowded auditorium filled with people she doesn't know.

She bites her lip. It's stupid, of course. This is just a graduation, it's not the end of the world or something. And Dipper already took the time to make the long drive up for her prom, so she really can't ask any more of him. It just would have been nice to have _one_ familiar face in the crowd, one person she knows is cheering for _her._

She doesn't even think about her parents. Their empty words lie on her dresser back home, the same formal apologies and congratulations she's been receiving for her birthdays since they divorced and left her with her grandmother (who, of course, just happens to be out of town for a funeral today).

Not that any of it matters. It's just a stupid graduation. She doesn't need anyone there to pat her on the back, or something.

"Earth to Pacifica!" Pacifica jerks back as Amanda pops in front of her face, a half-excited, half-nervous smile on her face. "C'mon, don't look so down! We're graduating! We're free agents after this!"

"Lay off her, Amanda," Serena says, finally turning away from the mirror. "She can be sad if she wants. Her dumb boyfriend didn't make it."

"Oh, yeah," Amanda says, sympathetically, patting her shoulder.

"He's not dumb," Pacifica defends. "Just stuck in another state," she adds, muttering.

"Hey, it'll be fine!" Amanda says, linking arms with the both of them. "You've got us. And we'll have tons of fun at the after party and forget all about being sad!"

"Sure, thanks," Pacifica sighs, but she can't help but smile a bit at Amanda's enthusiasm. Then feel her smile drop because it reminds her of Mabel.

"Yeah, okay, friends forever," Serena huffs, wrangling out of Amanda's hold. "We're also going to be _late_ if we don't get going now."

Amanda squeals, whether from excitement or nerves, Pacifica can't tell. She swallows, grabbing her cap from a bench as they head out of the dressing room to join their fellow students in lining up. She's _not_ nervous, she thinks, jamming the cap on her head as she falls into the rhythm of walking in her heels. She's not. She just…

She just doesn't want to walk out there when no one's waiting for her.

 _Pomp and Circumstance_ begins to filter through the speakers, and even Serena looks excited now. The jumble of students move forwards, bursts of excited whispering surrounding her as they fall into something vaguely resembling a line. Pacifica swallows, straightening the hem of her gown. Amanda flashes her a quick smile, which she weakly returns. She just wants to get this over with.

They filter in to the auditorium, half the students looking around at their families and friends and the other half struggling to keep enormous smiles off their faces as they stare resolutely forward. Pacifica keeps her head held high, but she doesn't look. It's not as if she'd ever find anyone.

They sit alphabetically facing the stage, and Pacifica takes a moment to curse her last name as Amanda and Serena leave for the C's and A's, respectively. She sits down next to a girl and a boy whose faces are familiar, but she's never spoken to. The girl is staring back at the crowd of families and friends, making eyes at her boyfriend. Pacifica slouches a bit in her chair. It occurs to her how much she hates public displays of affection.

(And no, this is not her being bitter, or a hypocrite. Not at all.)

The head of the school board begins his fancy speech about how wonderful they all are and how much they've accomplished, how wonderful their futures are going to be and what they're going to be in life. Pacifica distracts herself by counting how many times he uses the phrase "you are the future" in his speech. She's counted eight by the time they begin calling people up for diplomas.

Again, she curses the location of her last name as she watches Serena and Amanda grab their diplomas, beaming grins on their faces as they return to their seats amongst the loud applause. Pacifica slouches further into her chair, waiting through the other fourteen letters.

By the time they reach the N's, she's ready to crawl out of the auditorium on her hands and knees, if that's what it takes.

"Jack Norman!"

Another burst of applause echoes through the audience, the family in the front row yelling and waving enthusiastically as her classmate walks forwards, beaming, to claim his diploma. Pacifica swallows, adjusting her hat. Just walk out and grab the diploma and leave. That's it.

"Pacifica Northwest!"

Pacifica steps out to the obligatory applause, steps measured and careful as she holds her head high. She won't look, she just won't look-

"YEAH PACIFICA!"

"WOOOH! GO PAZ!"

Her head jerks to the side as she nearly stumbles to a halt at the familiar voices. There's no way-

There _is_. Off to her right, ten rows back, and practically standing in their seats are Dipper and Mabel, huge grins plastered across their faces as they scream for her. And – Stan's next to them, and so is Stanley, and there's Soos and freaking _Wendy_ – cheering so loudly and enthusiastically that the people in the seats next to them are giving them weird looks-

Oh no. Oh no, she's going to cry.

She stumbles the last few steps forwards, her cheeks hurting from the smile she's got on. She grabs her diploma, pausing to shake hands with the man before she turns away, back to look at the Pines. Dipper's giving her the biggest smile, clapping wildly as Mabel jumps excitedly besides him. Her eyes burn as she somehow makes it back into her seat, hands shaking from giddy relief around her diploma and still smiling.

She doesn't remember one single thing about the rest of that ceremony, except that she's smiling the whole time.

* * *

"-and then we realized that duh, if we left right after school and drove through the night and stuff we could totally make it in time for your graduation! I mean, it sucks that it's so early and stuff 'cause lemme tell you, sleeping in the car at a gas station is _not_ as fun as it sounds, but obviously it was worth it. And then Grunkle Stan and Grandpa Stan were totally up for it, and Wendy was in town too, so we were like, why not just bring everyone?"

Pacifica still has a huge smile on her face as Mabel enthusiastically tosses punch into their cups, explaining their surprise appearance under the swirling lights of the after party.

"And anyways, it was pretty crazy but what's important is that we made it, and you're graduated!" Mabel finishes, handing her the glass of punch. "And you look totally beautiful, by the way."

"Thank you," Pacifica says. "Seriously, Mabel, thank you. So much. You have no idea-"

"Don't mention it," Mabel says, with a soft smile. "Of course we'd be here for you." She takes the opportunity to hug her for the sixth time, and Pacifica struggles not to cry again.

"C'mon," Mabel says, pulling back. "Let's go see if your friends have eaten Dipper alive yet."

Pacifica snorts. Across the room, she can see Amanda and Serena talking to Dipper, having finally cornered him alone. It doesn't seem to be half the disaster she's expecting, though, because Dipper looks relaxed, Serena looks wearily resigned, and Amanda seems to have given up the defensive friend act completely and is talking animatedly to Dipper. She ducks through the crowds of people, sidling up to them and worming her way in next to Dipper. He wraps an arm around her as he talks, pausing to shoot her a grin. She smiles back, sipping at her punch.

Amanda breaks off her babbling as Serena talks to Mabel and Dipper, meeting her eyes.

 _He got hotter!_ She mouths at her, eyes wide. Pacifica grins, wrapping her spare arm around Dipper's possessively.

 _Yup,_ she mouths back, smug. _Get your own man._ Amanda sticks her tongue out at her. Pacifica returns the favor, grinning.

The music changes, the mood shifting as the faster beat echoes through the building. Mabel jumps excitedly to the beat, and is free for exactly half a minute before she's asked to dance, unsurprisingly. Serena is snatched up by her own boyfriend, and Amanda darts off to ask the guy she's been eyeing all year. This leaves Pacifica alone with Dipper, which is far from a bad thing.

"Shall we?" he asks, gesturing to the now-crowded dance floor.

"Sure," Pacifica says. "If you promise not to step on my feet."

"That was _one time_ ," Dipper groans, as he takes her hand. "Geez, you're never gonna let that go."

"Nope," Pacifica says, but she's smiling. They drift aimlessly through the crowds of people, slipping into the beat of the music as the multi-colored lights flash around them. As much as she enjoys the carefree, unstructured dancing, Pacifica finds herself missing the formal, traditional dances of her youth, which gave her an opportunity to pull Dipper closer and keep their conversation _theirs_. She wonders if it would be rude to bribe the DJ to play something slower.

"I'm impressed, by the way," Dipper says, cutting through her thoughts.

"Huh?" she asks, eloquently.

"Your shoes," Dipper says, nodding at her feet. "You rocked them up there. I was totally banking on you face-planting on the stairs."

"That's because you have no faith," she sniffs. "Or any understanding of women's fashion, at that."

"I wouldn't count on either of those," Dipper protests. "First off, I grew up with _Mabel_. I have more understanding of women's fashion than I ever wanted."

"I'll give you that," Pacifica admits.

"And second off," Dipper continues, a bit awkward. "I always have faith. Uh – in you. You know that. Uh, right?"

"Yeah," she replies softly, her cheeks reddening. "Of course."

"Goo – yeah, good," Dipper says, eyes darting anywhere but hers. "And I hope – I hope you know I'd never really leave you alone for this.

"Not purposely, no," she says. "But I honestly didn't see that coming." She laughs, softening. "That was the best surprise gift I've ever received. Really."

"It was a struggle, keeping it a surprise, that's for sure," Dipper says, wearily. "That's why I didn't call you, by the way. Turns out using your phone as a GPS throughout the entire night kinda kills the battery. Sorry, though."

"Don't worry about it," she says, smiling. "It was more than worth it."

"And speaking of gifts," Dipper says, pausing a moment as he reaches for his back pocket. "I'm hoping I didn't fail as miserably in this department."

"Oh, Dipper, no – you didn't have to get me anything," Pacifica stutters, taken aback.

" 'course I did," he says, matter-of-factly, handing her a small box neatly wrapped in pale green paper. "Here. Happy graduation, or congrats, or…whatever."

Pacifica shakes her head, but she unwraps the shiny paper carefully, opening the box. A small breath escapes her as she stares at the gift, glinting in the flashing lights. The earrings are dream-catchers, the woven bands decorated with turquoise stones, and tiny, silver feathers dangling from the hoops.

"Mabel helped me make them," Dipper says, sounding nervous. "But I picked out the design and stuff. And don't kill me for this, but they're a tad supernatural, by the way. Like, we laced them with magic and everything, so they'll ward off dream demons and stuff."

Pacifica lifts an earring by the hand, surprised at the delicate lightness of it.

"Do you –" Dipper stutters, anxious. "I mean, if you don't like them, that's totally okay-" She cuts him off by throwing her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I love them," she says, voice muffled. "They're perfect."

"Oh," Dipper says, returning her hug as he sighs in relief. "Good."

"They're beautiful," she says, pulling back as she takes out the diamonds she currently has in her ears. She quickly replaces them with Dipper's gift. "Thank you. So much."

"You're very welcome," Dipper says, kissing her lightly on the forehead, a habit he's developed with his newfound height. Annoying as it is to have to tilt her head back to reach his eyes, she can't say it's one she doesn't like.

He pulls back, which she quickly decides is unacceptable, lacing her fingers through his hair and tilting his head towards hers as she goes on her tiptoes, though it's less of a strain than usual because she's wearing heels. The people around them melt away as she kisses him, Dipper's hand circling her waist and drawing her closer to him.

"You're the best," she whispers when they finally pull apart, their fingers threading together as they drift back near the tables.

"Mm, that's a change of pace from the usual," Dipper says, smiling absently.

"Don't get used to it," she says, fingering her earrings. "You're still the worst unless you've brought me gifts or given me the best surprise of my life."

"Noted," Dipper says, grinning. Pacifica just shakes her head, drifting lazily to the music.

"Oh!" she says, suddenly remembering. "Gifts! I was going to give you this on your graduation, but I have it with me and I really can't wait, so you're just going to get it now."

"What – Pacifica, no," Dipper protests, as she delves through her clutch purse. "I told you, I don't want you to feel like you have to get me stuff just because you have money, much less anything expensive."

"Don't get a big head, I got something for Mabel, too," she says, airily. "Besides, you're going to like this one."

"Paz, look, you don't-"

She hands him the thin envelope, watching with a smirk as he opens it.

"What – oh my god. You did not."

"I did!" she sings, grinning at his dumbfounded expression.

"BABBA world tour tickets," he says faintly, still staring at the slips of paper. Pacifica watches his internal war with a barely-suppressed smile, waiting for his dorkier side to win over.

"You know what – fine. You win. Best gift goes to you," he finally says. "And you know what else, I _definitely_ did not kiss you long enough earlier, so I hope you don't mind me ticking your friends off because we're doing that again."

Pacifica just laughs, allowing him to pull her in again.

She definitely _cannot_ wait until he's at college with her.


End file.
